PFW: Balenciaga Men’s SS18

Demna Gvasalia invites the whole family to the Bois de Boulogne.

Like Father, Like Son

For the house’s SS18 collection, designer Demna Gvasalia has resurrected the version of your dad that can only be found in hidden family photo albums. The new and improved model however, comes complete with quirky tailoring and a Balenciaga-branded mountain bike. Gvasalia has somehow made the eternally uncool cool, and just to really hammer home the idea, the designer chose to invite his models’ children to walk alongside them on the catwalk, because, what’s more fashion than a man who loves his kids? If you thought Hawaiian prints and rugby shirts tucked in at the waist were going to be left in the grainy stills of your sixth birthday party, then think again.

Weather Warning

Despite temperatures reaching 37 degrees in Paris this week, the brand’s latest (Spring Summer) offering featured an array of coats and jackets to prepare for weather of the other extremes; hooded plastic sheeting covered some ensembles, colourful windbreakers were tucked into suit trousers, while oversized ski jackets and a bright blue puffer emerged half-fastened. Trousers, however, were more suited to warmer conditions with detachable panels of denim and leather ready to be unzipped at a moment’s notice.

Unconventional Accessories

Riding on the wave of infamy generated from the brand’s take on IKEA’s iconic FRAKTA tote back in April, Gvasalia has upped Balenciaga’s accessory game for SS18 with the introduction of the Balenciaga flat bag: a luxury reworking of the plastic bags found at your local off-license or supermarket. Swinging from arms in shades of pink, red and orange, as well as a vibrant green crochet, the heavily branded bags made recurring appearances amongst the more unusual accessories line-up that included said bike, hoods styled from shirts, and of course, kids.